Robotic Piece and Bin Picking | Bastian Solutions SmartPick™

The AI vision platform directs the robot and EoAT to a pick location with the proper orientation to pick a single item reliably and accurately. The AI then directs the robot to actuate the appropriate vacuum cups to grasp the product. Once secured, the robot retracts from the bin and places the object in a secondary destination and is ready for another pick and place sequence. As the robot picks different object shapes, dimensions, and materials, it continues to learn and improve how to identify and pick objects in different positions, further improving efficiency.

Fully Automated Order Picking & Fulfillment

A fully automated order fulfillment solution consists of a goods to person system, industrial pick and place robot, AI vision system, secondary material handling equipment and warehouse software to control the entire process, like a WES. When an order is received, the warehouse software communicates with the GTP (goods to person) system to deliver the bin containing the ordered item to the robot operated GTP workstation. The robot’s AI and vision platform identifies the SKU(s) needed for the order, then selects the “most pick-able” product in the pile and releases the robot to pick it and place into the designated destination. When the order is complete, the container will be transported for further outbound processing like checkweighing with in-line scales to ensure order accuracy and automated labeling to attach a shipping label.

Artificial Intelligence and Vision System

Equipped with innovative AI and machine vision, Bastian Solutions’ bin picking robots can quickly adapt to your current products or new product integration. As new products are introduced, the vision automatically identifies pickable items in a dynamic evaluating process. Over time, the AI software builds a library of objects it has seen and handled, along with optimal picking information. Based on this previous experience, the machine learning continuously reclassifies unpickable items, increasing autonomy and SKU coverage. This knowledge is shared across the entire fleet, allowing them to continuously learn from each other so they can function as a single, highly efficient order fulfillment operation. The AI and vision platform directly interfaces with Bastian Solutions’ Exacta® intralogistics software, communicating product data and sharing order fulfillment information. This integration allows the robotic picking cells to run with even higher autonomy. 

Industrial robotic arms with AI-enabled vision systems offer flexibility beyond just order picking. Other applications for each-picking robots include:

• Induction and Sortation – Isolate mixed products from an induction point and placing them on take away conveyors or sorters.
• Put Wall and Buffering – Singulate mixed products from an infeed point and placing them into specific bins for further order fulfillment processing.
• GTP Picking – Pick and pack orders for delivery and in-store pick up for grocery, apparel, e-commerce, health & beauty, and facilities integrating GTP systems.

Bastian Solutions SmartPick introduces numerous opportunities and benefits, including:

• Packaging or product flexibility with reliable and adaptable picking of cuboids, cylinders, collapsible tubes, blister packs, polybags, clamshells and transparent or reflective surfaces. 
• Increased order accuracy for improved customer satisfaction.
• Options for 24/7 automated operations.
• Autonomous robotic picking from multiple totes, by a single robotic arm
• Continuous learning and accurate identification of millions of products through shared robotic AI software.
• Improved employee ergonomics by automating tedious, time intensive picking operations.
• Easing constraints caused by labor shortages and reducing operating costs.
• Intuitive, custom EoAT designs that adapt to product variability and hard-to-pick materials like clear polybags and small cosmetics.
• Scalable, future proof solution that seamlessly integrates with existing and new equipment and software
• Effectively interfaces with GTP systems, vertical storage systems and ASRS (Automated Storage and Retrieval System) front-end workstations.
• Reliably place to a variety material handling equipment, such as AVs (autonomous vehicles), conveyor and automatic bagging systems

When deciding whether a robotic piece picking system could work for your operation, it’s important to consider the following factors:

• Facility layout – industrial robotic arms require safety cells, collaborative robotic arms can work directly next to humans and require less space
• Facility throughput and required picking speed
• Possible collaboration with human operators
• Compatibility with existing systems and technologies
• Test cell availability for vision verification and EoAT compatibility

• Operates at or above manual picking speeds
• Can be integrated with VLMs (vertical lift modules), ASRS, and GTP systems